Tragic Flood Sweeps Mother & Child, 6 Others in Lagos State

According to reports, the current location of a mother, her unidentified baby, and six other individuals, one of whom is known as Umar, remains unknown after they were swept away by a flood caused by a heavy rainfall in the Agege area of Lagos State.

Reports indicate that during Thursday’s,15th of June ,2023, intense rainfall, a canal near the Abattoir area in Agege was overwhelmed by floodwaters, reaching a level that rendered the bridge impassable for both motorists and residents attempting to reach their desired locations in the vicinity.

It was reported that a tricycle operator narrowly escaped death when his vehicle was swept into the canal by the flood while he was traveling through the area.
According to a resident named Wasiu, who witnessed the incident, another unfortunate event occurred simultaneously. A woman, while carrying her child, lost her balance and fell into the floodwater.

As the flood carried away the mother and child, Wasiu stated that a brave resident named Umar attempted to rescue them by jumping into the flood. However, the strong current of the flood overwhelmed them, and all three individuals were swept into the canal.

Wasiu said, “The owner of the tricycle is my friend. He is a mechanic who stays in Oko-Oba. He was coming from Agege but when he got to the bridge, he realised flood had overrun the bridge and waited but suddenly lost control of the tricycle. As the tricycle moved forward, the flood dragged him and the tricycle into the canal.

“He was the only one in the tricycle and he survived because he swam out of the canal. His cloth got torn and people gave him something to wear. He is recuperating in the hospital.

“Around the same time, a woman, who carried her child at her back, tried to manoeuvre the flood but lost control, fell into the flood and it swept her feet and started dragging her and her child into the canal but Umar jumped into the flood to save them. The three of them have not been found to date.”

One of our correspondents was informed by a neighbor during a visit to Umar’s residence on Saturday that they became aware of the incident when individuals started raising an alarm as the flood was carrying them away.

The neighbour said, “He lived inside this compound. His name is Umar. When we heard the noise, we quickly rushed out but when we got outside, there was nothing anyone could do.

“We waited for the rain to subside. On the second day, we combed the entire area hoping to see the corpses. Even this morning, some of our residents still did but we found nothing.”